Top Items:
MSNBC:
Hayden: Spying has become political football — CIA nominee complains of constant scrutiny of intelligence gatherers — WASHINGTON - CIA nominee Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden complained Thursday that intelligence-gathering has become "football in American political discourse."
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Ken Silverstein / Harper's:
"Fairy Tales" — The (lack of) intelligence underpinning Bush's Iraq policy — During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein's Information Minister became the butt of a million jokes for predicting that American soldiers were being routed, even as U.S. troops were quickly closing in on Baghdad.
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Feingold, Specter Clash Over Gay Marriage — WASHINGTON - A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance." — "I don't need to be lectured by you.
Bryan / Hot Air:
Breaking: Ahmadinejad to send a Letter to the Pope — As nearly every single character in the Star Wars universe says, "I have a bad feeling about this." … He also invited Bush to become a Muslim. And you would be wise to interpret the word "invite" to have a whiff of the mob inviting you to dinner at the end of a pier.
Discussion:
All Things Beautiful, protein wisdom, Ninth State, Blue Crab Boulevard and E L Frederick
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Reuters:
Iran president to send letter to Pope - paper — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is writing a letter to Pope Benedict, following an unprecedented letter to U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month, a newspaper said on Thursday.
Mary Katharine Ham / Hugh Hewitt:
Whaaat???: Illegal Immigration Edition — Seriously, if you could see me now, I'm very Yosemite Sam. Very stampy and tantrumy and incoherent. — Just a few minutes ago, on the floor of the United States Senate, senators debated an amendment to the McCain immigration bill.
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Reuters:
Hamas force battles police in Gaza, 4 hurt — GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian police fought gunbattles in Gaza City on Friday with a new Hamas-led security force set up by the Islamist government in defiance of President Mahmoud Abbas. — At least four people were wounded …
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Jason DeParle / New York Times:
G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania — WASHINGTON, May 17 — A revolt among Pennsylvania conservatives gained national attention on Wednesday after challengers toppled at least 12 state lawmakers they deemed insufficiently committed to small government and fiscal restraint.
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Ethics Panel Starts 3 Probes — Ney, Jefferson And Cunningham Cases End Hiatus — After 16 months of inactivity and partisan infighting, the House ethics committee launched investigations last night into bribery allegations against Reps. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and William Jefferson (D-La.) …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Miami Herald, The Carpetbagger Report, Blue Crab Boulevard, Bring it On! and Obsidian Wings
Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
Out of Touch — What the president's immigration speech and "The DaVinci Code" have in common. — What was missing in the president's approach the other night was the expression, or suggestion, of context. The context was a crisis that had gone unanswered as it has built …
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
In TWN News: Michael Hayden, Bobby Ray Inman, and Richard Armitage — (Former NSA Director Bobby Inman speaking at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library) — Michael Hayden's CIA Director confirmation hearings start today in the Senate Intelligence Committee at 9:30 a.m. — I'll be listening.
Frederic J. Frommer / Associated Press:
Sensenbrenner: Bush Turned Back on Bill — WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has pushed a tough border security bill through the House, accused President Bush on Wednesday of abandoning the legislation after asking for many of its provisions. — "He basically turned his back on provisions …
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Nutroots video: Kos makes TV political ad debut — **Watch the video remix. Geraghty calls it "perhaps the most surreal campaign ad I've ever seen." Me, I've seen this movie before; the line "the call's coming from inside the house" figures prominently.
Judd / Think Progress:
New Ads Funded by Big Oil Portray Global Warming Science as Smear Campaign Against Carbon Dioxide — Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute - a front group funded by ExxonMobil and other big oil companies - launched two advertisements in response to Al Gore's new movie, An Inconvenient Truth.
David Streitfeld / Los Angeles Times:
A Job Americans Won't Do, Even at $34 an Hour — Some landscape firms rebut claims that higher pay, not immigration reform, is needed. — Cyndi Smallwood is looking for a few strong men for her landscaping company. Guys with no fear of a hot sun, who can shovel dirt all day long.
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Troop Cuts Uncertain, Rumsfeld Testifies — Pentagon Chief Hopeful About 2006 Reduction in Iraq but 'Can't Promise It' — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he cannot guarantee that there will be substantial withdrawals of U.S. troops from Iraq this year, and warned instead …
Hotline On Call:
Have A Heart — This has to be just about the nastiest piece of direct mail we've ever seen. — A candidate for State Assembly in the central valley region of CA, Bill Conrad (R) is apparently running on the platform that his opponent won't survive his term because he had a heart transplant.
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